Identifying Fair Trade Labels

Published September 28, 2008 @ 06:42AM PT

Going along with the Fair Trade Four, these are the most reliable labels to look out for that will guarantee that either the product or the company donning the mark is 100% Fair Trade.

Fair Trade Product Labels

When you see either of these labels on a product, you are guaranteed that the international Fair Trade standards were met in the production and sourcing of that product.

The Fairtrade Certification mark covers a wide range of products internationally including wine, fruits, sports balls, and more recently, cotton. Certification is regulated by FLO-CERT, an organization autonomous to Fairtrade Labeling Organization (FLO) International, who sets the international standards for Fair Trade. FLO-CERT acts as an independent, transparent and consistent certification system that complies with ISO 65, the internationally accepted norm for certification bodies. When a product carries the Fairtrade Certification mark, it only certifies that specific product as 100% Fair Trade, not the company or organization selling it.

This label, issued by TransFair USA, is seen on products in the U.S. ranging from fruit to rice to chocolate and even to flowers. It assures U.S. consumers that a product is certified to be Fair Trade according to strict internatonal Fair Trade standards. When you see this label on a product, you are assured that strict social, environmental and economic criteria were met in the production and trade of that product. The Fair Trade Certified label only certifies the specific product to be 100% Fair Trade, not the company or organization selling it.

Fair Trade Business/Organization Labels

When you spot a business or an organization carrying either of these labels, rest assured that they went through a very rigorous screening process to prove that they fully uphold the tenets of Fair Trade.

The Fair Trade Federation label is not found on products but is used to identify an association of North American Fair Trade wholesalers, retailers and producers that ardently practice Fair Trade. In order to become an FTF member, busineses must go through a strict screening process to ensure that they are 100% Fair Trade.

The Fair Trade Organization (FTO) mark identifies registered Fair Trade organizations worldwide that are part of The International Fair Trade Association (IFAT). The FTO label is an organizational, rather than product, mark, which ensures consumers that the approved organizations have met and uphold worldwide Fair Trade standards. There are over 120 IFAT members who have gone through a strict monitoring process to be qualified to use the FTO mark.

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Comments (5)

Thanks, Zarah, for this helpful information on Fair Trade and the various labels.

I would like more information on the labels I'm seeing in many stores, such as "Rainforwest Alliance" or Wholetrade" (at Whole Foods markets).

Having spent most of the last 5 months abroad (England, Spain, Portugal) I have seen that Fair Trade is much bigger there than in the U.S. Actually, in mainstream supermarkets, I rarely saw any coffee displayed for purchase that did NOT have the Fairtrade label.

My impression is that Americans are becoming more aware of Fairtrade issues but that some of our markets wannt a less stringent (more profitable?) kind of certification. When I read the small print on some coffee marked "Rainforest Alliance," I saw that just 30% of the product had to meet Rainforest Alliance standards (and they didn't define those standards)!

Will you clarify? Is the best advice to trust only the internationally known "Fair Trade" label?

Thanks,

Jane

Posted by Jane Zeni on 01/14/2009 @ 11:32AM PT
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Jane-

Thanks for pointing this out. I am actually working on a post on additional labels found on products, so keep a lookout.

In terms of your comparison about Europe and the U.S., the European Fair Trade movement has been around a lot longer than in the U.S. In the last few years, the American Fair Trade movement has been gaining momentum and more products are becoming Fair Trade certified. (Sidenote: TransFAir USA, the org that certifies FT products in the US and grants the FT label has only been around since 1999).

The TransFair logo you see on US products follow the same standards as the internationally known Fair Trade mark that you saw in Europe. They are all part of the same system (just different looking label), so they can be trusted equally.

Thanks for your questions and I will be sure to address all these issues in more detail in some upcoming posts.

Zarah

Posted by Zarah Patriana on 01/14/2009 @ 11:59AM PT
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Thanks, Zarah. I have not seen the TransFAIR label but will look for it. I hope you will comment on Rainforest Alliance, Whole Trade, etc., which sound to me like Starbucks -- not quite the real thing. (When I read the small print, I found that Rainforest Alliance claims just 30% of the coffee in the bag is RA.)

Actually one of the few places I've seen a "Fairtrade" label on coffee is Wal-Mart! "Sam's Choice" has several flavors.

This is very strange.

Jane

Posted by Jane Zeni on 01/15/2009 @ 02:56PM PT
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Thanks for your kind information.

Since I am new in Fair Trade, I am learning a lot from your blog.

Regarding this post, I have one question with FTO mark and FLO-cert mark. A company, which was approved by FTO mark, needs to have FLO-cert mark for its product?

Awaiting yours,

Posted by Minchul Sohn on 03/09/2009 @ 01:42AM PT
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Unfortunately, the term "fair trade" is misused more often than not. Please research how a company will use money from your purchase. If they don't tell you, then it's probably a scam. If they only give 10% of the money back to the artist, that's no different than any other corporation donating money for a tax write-off. Make sure you know what you're supporting so you can feel good about helping those in poverty through your purchase!

Fair Trade should be more than a marketing buzzword, and at Village Markets of Africa, we make fair trade our core philosophy. We pay fair market prices directly to producing artisans and eliminate any exploitative middlemen. After sales, we return 50% of our profits to the artisans in the form of microloans, job training, machines and tools. How is anything less than 50/50 fair?

For more information, please visit our website.

www.villagemarketsofafrica.com

Posted by Village Markets of Africa on 08/06/2009 @ 08:53PM PT
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Author

Zarah is the Operations Manager for the Global Exchange Fair Trade Online Store, a project of the international human rights organization, Global Exchange. Alongside her work with marginalized communities from all over the world to get their products into the international market, Zarah serves to educate and inform the public about a more just and sustainable trading system.